Machine for wrapping rolls of toilet paper and the like



NOV- 3, .w H CAN 2,301,016

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ROLLS 0F TOILET PAPER AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 12, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. WdZLam [f Ca/zmrd,

Nov. 3, 1942. w. 1-1. CANNARD MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ROLLS OF TOILET PAPER AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 12, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 INVENTOR.

Wzi zamflarzrzar'ci BY NOV. 3, 1942. w N AR 2,301,016

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ROLLS 0F TOILET PAPER AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 12, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 iii 6 Nov. 3, 1942. 2,301,016

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ROLLS OF TOILET PAPER AND THE LIKE w. H. CANNARD .Filed Dec. 12, 1940 -4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I H INVENTOR. WdZca/n fi Carzizard,

Patented Now 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE MACHINE FOB WRAPPING ROLLS OF TOILET PAPER AND THE LIKE The object of this invention is to provide an improved machine for automatically wrapping rolls of toilet paper and the like. While the machine is especially applicable to the wrapping of rolls of toilet paperand will be referred to hereinafter in that connectionit should be understood that the machine is also applicable to the wrapping of hollow centered rolls of other kinds of material. 1

The improved machine embodies a number of novel features which cooperate to produce wrapped rolls in which the labelor other sheet serving as the wrapper is smoothly, neatly and securely applied, in a fully automatic manner, and at a high rate of speed.

1 While the foregoing statements are indicative in a general way of the nature of the invention, other more specific objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a full understanding of the construction, arrangement and operation of the various parts of the machine.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is presented herein for the purpose of exemplification, but it will of course be understood that the invention is capable of being embodied in other structurally modified forms coming equally within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the improved machine, with the label feeding mechanism and certain of the other parts removed for clearness of illustration Fig. 2 is a somewhat schematic end view of the upper portion of the machine, likewise with certain of the parts removed for clearness;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through one of the rolls at the second station in the machine, where theproiecting ends of the wrapper are folded inwardly against the ends of the roll and tucked into the hollow center of the latter;

Figs. '10, 11, 12 and 13 are views, similar to Fig. 9, which-show the various stages in the progressive actions of thetucking arms and wrapping fingers at thesecond station;

within the guideway rest upon a conveyor belt l2 which serves to advance .the rolls along the guideway to the wrapping mechanism.

The rolls II) are provided at their centers with hollow tubular cores 13. These rolls are adapted to be wrapped in suitably printed wrappers ll of tissue paper or other material. The wrappers ll are arranged in a stack IS a short distance the rolllfeeding guideway, taken on the line Fig. 4 is a side view of certain of the driving connections in the machine;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are each similar to a portion of Fig. 1 and show respectively (1) a roll as it is being pushed downwardly on a wrapper into one of the carriers, (2) the same roll after the leading margin of the wrapper has been wrapped about the upper portion of the roll with the roll fully seated in the carrier, and (3) the same roll after the spider supporting the carrier has started to move and the following margin of the wrapper on the roll'has been wiped down into overlapping association with the leading margin of the wrapper;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the tucker arms;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal diametric section through jects the rolls l0, one at a time, into a position between two laterally spreadable holders l6 which are located just beyond the end of the guideway ll between the latter and the wrapper feeding mechanism.

The holders I6 are curved inwardly toward each other at their lower ends into positions beneath the foremost roll, and are pivoted at II to a portion of the frame of the machine. At the proper time in the operation of the machine the holders "5, which are normally urged toward each other by suitably located spring means (not shown), are forced apart by cams l8 on a vertically reciprocating rod l9, which cams engage rollers 20 on the holders 16.

Before the foremost roll I!) i released by the holders l6, one of the wrappers M will have been fed from the stack l5 along guide strips 2! to a position directly beneath the foremost roll, in centered relation to the latter.

The feeding mechanism for the wrappers consists of two rotating rolls 22 beneath the stack l5. These rolls are provided with arcuate projecting portions, 23 which engage frictionall with the lowermost wrapper in the stack l and project the same at the proper time in the operation of the machine into a position between a pair of opposed feed rolls 24. During this projection the stack 5 of wrappers is held against movement by one of the walls 25 of the magazine in which the stack is located, and the wrapper immediately above the lowermost one is held against movement by a pin 26, which pin moves upwardly into engagement with the same as soon as the lowermost wrapper has started to move. The rolls 24 move th lowermost wrapper l4 into a centered position beneath the foremost roll ID on the strips 2|, and during this movement one of the margins of the wrapper (hereinafter referred to as the following margin) may have glue applied thereto by a suitably supplied arcuate pad 21 on another rotating roll 28.

At the time that the holders |6 release the foremost roll ID a pusher 29 on the lower end of the vertically movabl rod l9 engages with the upper surface of the roll and forces it downwardly through an opening between the strips 2| on which the wrapper I4 is resting, causing the wrapper to move downwardly with the roll and curve itself about the lower portion of the latter, as shown in Fig. 5. The pusher 29 projects the roll l0 and wrapper l4 into a semicylindrical carrier 38 below the holders l6, leaving the leading and following margins 3| and 32 of the wrapper extending upwardly from the sides of the roll. The carrier 39 is of substantially the same radius as the roll but is shorter than the latter.

During the downward movement of the roll l9 and wrapper |4 into the carrier 39, the roll and wrapper are prevented from dropping away from the pusher 29 by a pair of spaced supports 33 which are located beneath the upper edges of the guide strips 2| immediately beyond the ends of the carrier 30. The supports 33 move downwardly in synchronism with the pusher 29. The arm l9 which carrie the pusher 29 is reciprocated by a vertically movable rod 34. This rod is pivoted at its upper end to a pivoted lever 35. The lever 35 is pivoted to a portion of the arm of the machine at 36 and bears at its free end against an abutment 31 on the rod l9. The rod 34 is provided intermediat its ends with a lug 38 which engages with the free end of a lever 39 carried by a rock shaft 40. The supports 33 are mounted on the ends of levers 4| and the levers 4| are in turn secured to the rock shaft 49. Consequently, when the rod 34 is moved downwardly, the pusher 29 will descend and the supports 33 will also descend.

After the roll III, with its wrapper l4, has been positioned in the carrier 30 the pusher '29 will return to its uppermost position again and a wrapping finger 42 will advance across the top of the roll from one side of the latter, wiping the leading margin 3| of the wrapper down into engagement with the top of the roll, as shown in Fig. 6. The wrapping finger 42 is provided with a spring-pressed pressure plat 43 which moves with the finger 42 but is set back with respect to the tip 44 of the latter. The plat 43, upon engaging with the wrapper and pressing it against the roll, will yield resiliently as the finger 42 continues its advance, allowing the tip 44 of the latter to press the extreme edge of the leading margin 3| into engagement with the roll. The finger 42 is pivotally mounted at 45 to the upper end of a lever 46, and a spring 41 tends to bias the tip 44 of the finger downwardly, whereby to cause the tip to follow the contour of the roll during its movement across the top of the latter.

The carrier 39 is mounted on an intermittently rotating spider 48. The spider 48 is secured at its center to a shaft 49 and is provided with three other carriers which are identical with th carrier 30. The four carriers 39 are spaced apart about the periphery of the spider, and each time that the spider comes to rest during its intermittent movement one of the carriers will b located in an upwardly facing position directly beneath the foremost roll ID. The spider 48 remains stationary while the foremost roll I0 is being projected in the manner above described into the uppermost carrier 30 and while the wrapping finger 42 is folding the leading margin 3| of the wrapper about the upper portion of the roll seated in the carrier. I

After the wrapping finger 42, with the pressure plate 43, has folded over the leading margin 3| of the wrapper on the roll in the uppermost carrier 30, the spider 48 will start to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow thereon. As

this rotation takes place a plurality of pivotally mounted depending fingers 50, preferably of different lengths, pivoted at 5| to one of the guide strips 2|, and preferably supplemented by a loosely suspended chain 52, will wipe the following margin 32 of the wrapper down into overlapping engagement with the leading margin 3|, forming the wrapper into a tube. As the spider 48 continues to rotate to a point where the following margin 32 oi the wrapper on the roll moves out Of the range of the chain 52 resting on the same, the following margin 32 will be engaged by a circular guide 53 and will thereafter be retained by the guide 53 in its overlapping position. When th carrier 30 has moved through an angle of 90, from its initial position (hereinafter referred to as the first station), it will come to rest in its second position (hereinafter referred to as the second station).

At th second station a pair of tucker arms 54 are provided, which arms upon actuation move toward each other into positions wherein cylindrical bosses 55 on the ends of the arms project into the ends of the core |3 of the roll l0 and annular shoulders 56 on the arms engage with the ends of the roll, as shown in Fig. 9. The tucker arms 54 are pivotally mounted at 51 to a portion of the frame of th machine (see Fig. 8) and are caused to move toward and away from each other equally and to the same extent by intermeshing sector gears 58 on the arms. One of the arms is provided with a projection 59 which carries a roller 69, and this roller engages with an end-face cam 6| on a shaft 62. Rotation of the shaft 62 causes the tucker arms 54 to be moved away from each other and a spring 63 causes them to be moved toward each other, all at th proper times in the operation of the machine. Figs. 9 o 13 inclusive show the various positions assumed by the arms 54 during one complete operating cycle.

At this second stat1on two sets of folding fingers are also provided, one at each side of the carrier 30. As both sets are the same, only one set need be described. Each set consists of three thin, fiat, hook-shaped fingers 64, 65 and 66. The finger 64 is secured to a rock shaft 61. The

corresponding finger 84 of the other set is secured to the same rock shaft. The rock shaft 81 is oscillated by an arm 68 on the shaft, and the arm 681s connected with a pitman 68 which is operated-from an eccentric 18 on a shaft II.

The finger 64 is provided with a generally V- cured to the shaft 13 in parallel practically contiguous relation to the finger 84, The corresponding finger 85 of the other set is also secured to the rock shaft 13. The'finger i is provided with a generally V-shaped crotch 15, which coincides with the center of the roll in the carrier when the finger is moved toward that center. The third finger 88 is pivoted to the frame at 18, in parallel practically contiguous relation to the finger 65, and is provided with a generally V-shaped crotch II which coincides with the center of the roll when the finger is moved in that direction. The finger 88 is actuated from the finger 65 by a roller 18 on the finger 85 which cams against a surface 19 on the back of the finger Iii. When the rock shaft 61 is oscillated, the crotches in all three fingers will approach each other, gathering in the projecting end of the tubular wrapper and folding the same fiatly against the end of the roll. As-the fingers 84, 65 and 65 converge upon the projecting end of the wrapper the size of the opening defined by the fingers progressively decreases, as shown in Figs. 14 and 15, until all of the material in the projecting end of the wrapper is brought down into a circle of small size, as shown in Fig. 16. As the fingers come together from the position shown in Fig. 15 to the position shown in Fig. 16, the tucker arms 54 are'withdrawn, resulting in a tightly compacted formation of uniform shape. As soon as this formation has been effected, as shown in Figs. 12 and 16, the fingers 64, 65 and 68 are opened up and the tucker arm 54 is moved inwardly again, forcing the compacted formation produced by the fingers into the hollow end of the core I3, completing the wrap. The end of the cylindrical boss 55 on the tucker arm 54 is preferably concave in order to receive and center the compacted formation resulting from the closing of, the folding fingers.

The spider 48 is intermittently rotated by a Geneva gear 88 which is secured to the shaft 48. This gear is actuated intermittently by a continuously revolving arm 8| on a shaft 82. Every time that the shaft 82 makes one complete revolution the Geneva gear 88, with the spider 48,

will be caused to make one-quarter of a revolution. The shaft 82 is driven from an electric motor 83 by a chain and sprocket connection 84. mounted is driven from the shaft 82 by a chain and sprocket connection 85. The shaft 82 on which the cam Si is mounted is driven from the shaft 82 by a chain and sprocket connection 88. The rod 34 which operates both the pusher 28 and the underlyin roll supports 38 is connected at its lower end to a lever 81 which is pivoted at 88 to a portion of the frame. Intermediate its ends the lever 81 is provided with a roller 88 which is engaged by a cam 88 on the shaft 82 once during each revolution of that shaft. When the cam 88 engages with the roller 89 it swings the lever 81 downwardly, forcing the rod 84 downwardly. The rod 84 is returned to its upper 14 on the roll II have.

livery end of the belt l2, the lever I82 permost position again by means of a spring II which extends between the lever 88 and a portion of the frame of the machine. The lever 48 on which the wrapping finger 42 and pressure plate 48 are mounted is oscillated by a link 82 which is connected at one end with the lever and is bifurcated on the other end forslidlng engagement with the shaft 82. The shaft 82 is provided witha cam 88 which upon each revolution of the shaft 82 engages with a roller 84 on the link 82 which causes the latter to shift endwise and oscillate the lever 48. I

After the projecting tubular ends of the wrapbeen folded in flatly against the ends of the roll and tucked securely into the openings in the ends of the core of the roll, the spider rotates through another 90, bringing the finished roll into a third station at the bottom of the machine. In this third station no further work is performed upon the wrapper. If glue has beenused on the wrapper the momentary stopping of the roll in this third position will enable the glue to take better effect prior to the discharge of the roll.

From the third station the roll is. advanced on the next movement of the spider 48 to a fourth station, from which it is discharged onto a table-like support 85 by a stripping arm 88. The arm 88 is pivoted at 81 to a portion of the frame and is connected by a pitman 88 to an eccentric 88 on one end of the rock shaft 61.

An electrical control device I88 is preferably located just above the guideway I I at the delivery end of the conveyor belt i2. This device includes a downwardly spring-pressed roller l8! which rides on the tops of the rolls l8 and holds the latter firmly in engagement with the belt at the point of delivery. The roller i8! is preferably mounted on a lever I82 which is connected with an electric switch "3 for controlling the operation of the motor 83. Should no roll be in a position ready to be discharged from the decarrying the pressure roller l8! will swing downwardly,

opening the switch and stopping the motor. As soon as a roll 18 moves along the guideway to the delivery end of the latter, the lever I82 will be raised, closing the switch and placing the machine in operation again.

The two sets of folding fingers G4, and 68 at opposite sides of the carrier 38 at the second station have been described as of single blade construction, but the fingers are preferably duplicated at each side so as to engage with the projecting tubular ends of the wrapper not only right at the ends of the roll but also a short distance outwardly therefrom. This duplication or multiply construction of the blades is illustrated in- Figs. 10, 11; 12 and 13.

I claim:

1. In a machine for wrapping hollow centered rolls, means for wrapping a wrapper about the periphery of a roll, with portions of the wrapper projecting beyond the ends of the roll, and means for. folding in and securing each projecting end 4 of the wrapper flatly against the end of the roll,

comprising a set of folding fingers at each end of the roll, means for moving the fingers together in planes parallel to the end of the roll to constrict the projecting portion of the wrapper, a tucker which holds the projecting portion of the wrapper against closing fully during the first part of the closing movement of the fingers, and means for withdrawing the tucker during the latter part of said movement and then returning it to tuck the resulting compacted wrapper formation into the open center of the roll.

2. In a machine for wrapping hollow centered rolls, a generally semi-circular carrier, means for projecting a roll into a position opposite the carrier, laterally separable means for temporarily supporting the roll in that position, means for projecting a wrapper into a position between the roll and the carrier, means for forcing the roll out from between the laterally separable means and against the; wrapper into the carrier with the wrapper curved about the bottom of the roll and with its margins projecting from the carrier, means for folding in the projecting end portions of the wrapper against the ends of the roll, and means for tucking the thusly compacted wrapper formations into the open ends of the roll.

3. In a machine for wrapping hollow centered rolls, a generally semi-circular carrier, means for positioning a roll in the carrier upon a wrapper with the margins of the wrapper projecting from the carrier at opposite sides of the roll, and means 7 periphery of a roll, with portions of the wrapper projecting beyond the ends of the roll, and means for folding in and securing each projecting end of the wrapper flatly against the end of the roll, comprising a set of folding fingers at each end of the roll, means for moving the fingers together to constrict the projecting portion of the wrapper, means for holding the projecting portion of the wrapper against closing fully during the first part of the closing movement of the fingers, means for withdrawing said last mentioned means during the latter part of said movement, and means for thereafter tucking the resulting compacted wrapper formation into the open center of the roll.

5. In a machine for wrapping hollow centered mils, a carrier movable in an arcuate path, means for positioning a roll in the carrier upon a wrapper with the margins of the wrapper projecting from the carrier at opposite sides of the roll, and means for wrapping one of the projecting margins about the roll, said means consisting of an arm which is osciilatable about the center of movement of the carrier, an inwardly springpressed wrapping finger pivotally mounted on the arm for engagement at its free end with the wrapper to press the latter against the roll in the direction of the carrier and a forwardly spring-pressed pressure plate which is carried by the arm for engagement with the wrapper at a point behind the finger.

WILLIAM H. CANNARD. 

